This blog is dedicated to all the gorditos, chubbies, huskies, bears, afrentados and foodies that love to eat delicious food and can't wait to hear where they should go next to get their grub on! I'm going to give you the 411 on all the places I love to frequent and all the places I seek out, like the culinary explorer that I am. I'm going to be real and tell what I feel and think. Bring on the comments and most importantly bring on the FOOD!

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Vegan Carbonara Pasta Recipe!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Vegan Carbonara Pasta Recipe!

Sofrito Lovers,

I can't believe that I love Vegan Carbonara Pasta! Sometimes, certain vegan dishes can taste, how do I say this gingerly? LIKE SHIT! But, when I tasted my co-worker's vegan pasta recipe, from SeriousEats.com, I couldn't believe how creamy, rich, and delicious this pasta dish tasted.

How could buttery, cheesy, eggy carbonara be vegan? How could someone veganize this decadent and delicious celebration of dairy at is best?

Flabbergasted, I immediately asked for the recipe and she called it up on her smart phone and,of course, the recipe was from SeriousEats. Their recipes are always resourceful and creative; these people could veganize an Argentinian barbeque smack in the middle of cow country!

Check out this recipe for yourself! If a life long carnivore like me loves it, I'm sure you all will as well! Go taste for yourself!

Vegan Carbonara Pasta Recipe

Carbonara may be one of the most difficult recipes to vegan-ify, since every major ingredient in the sauce is off-limits. But by eating lots of the real deal and getting mighty crafty with an array of unlikely ingredients, I managed to create a vegan carbonara that captures the essence of the original like no other: It's silky and rich, unctuous, and studded with meaty bits, with the sharp, lactic tang of Pecorino Romano (but, of course, no actual Pecorino Romano).

Why was I smiling?

Who is Ben The Pen Ramos?

I'm a cute, husky, Boricua lover of food and liberation. I educate, organize and moblize for various revolutionary causes in between having meals at, what I think are, some of the best restaurants, cafes, bars, cuchifritos, chimichurri trucks, and taquerias in the city.
I have never studied culinary arts/sciences; I am not a professional critic, nor do I have one of those super sensitive palettes that can divine every ingredient and spice in a meal.
My only qualification is that I am a fat ass that loves to eat food and share his opinion.
I watch alot of cooking shows on PBS, have watched every episode of Top Chef on the Bravo Channel and walk around the city aimlessly until I spot a restaurant that looks good!
I cannot cook to save my life, but I can eat with the best of them! Enjoy my blog!

Sofrito In My Soul

Sofrito in my soul, because I was lucky enough to be raised on delicious home made Puerto Rican criolla (typical food).

I learned to love food in my Mami's cocina (kitchen). I learned to appreciate the sacred, mystical, and transformative art of cooking and, most importantly, reveled in the epic journey that is eating and tasting!

Sofrito was the building block of every meal Mami masterfully crafted in her Five star Kitchen. Sofrito is a fragrant sauce and wet seasoning comprised of onions, garlic, pepper (either small sweet red peppers or green bell peppers), oregano, cumin, bay leaf, oil, and culantro puréed together in a blender.

A blend of African, Taino and Spanish culture all in one delicious green potion that provides the incredible explosion of flavor in every bite of Puerto Rican food. Whether it is used to marinade proteins, added to soup or stew stocks, or to flavor a caldero (pot) of beans, Sofrito is that little bit of Puerto Rican pride we add to all of our dishes.Sofrito in my soul, because through food, I travel the world, but despite however far I go, I always come back to my Mami's kitchen in Harlem; our little piece of Puerto Rico on W139th Street!